3V0309.03 Verbal imitation of “Thank you”: first addition of verbal communication to object based protocol. 11/27

THANK YOU — Peggy has been playing ‘giving’ with her pipe for several days with her grandmother. Edie would take the pipe from Peggy, pretend to puff, and return it with a “Thank you.” Yesterday, as she wheeled about in her walker, she offered her pipe to Gretchen in a series of exchanges and in one, she accompanied her ‘giving’ with /dae/dae/ [the current syllabic favorite] — but what was remarkable was that she “said” ‘Thank you’ — she had the right tempo and intonation pattern. It was after Peggy’s “Thank you” that I observed how regular was Edie’s part in her protocol with Peggy.

RELEVANCE — This ‘giving’ incident is the first one wherein Peggy has appeared to add elements of verbal communication to an object-based communication protocol. What is noteworthy especially is the “turn around”, as imitation, occurring with a different person from the one who inspired it. This is clear evidence that the “phrase” is in Peggy’s mind. This incident is also the first one in which it is fairly clear she has “said” something. — She has just passed her ten month birthday. What other two syllable statements could we expect to recognize from intonation and context?